2016 Small Business Credit Survey – A New England Perspective

Federal Reserve policymakers have been interested in understanding the impact of the recession and resulting recovery on small businesses. With limited data available on small business credit conditions, the Federal Reserve System conducted a survey to reach a broad base of business owners and gather information on credit experiences. The results of this national survey are published every year in several reports.

The questionnaire was developed in partnership with participating Reserve Banks throughout the Federal Reserve System. The goal of the multiyear survey is to maintain a core set of questions, while being able to add questions focused on emerging issues. The survey uses a convenience sample and runs for approximately 6 to 8 weeks.

The information contained in these reports is from the survey results in the New England states where enough responses were collected to meet the minimum threshold for generating a state report. These responses have been weighted in an attempt to generate a representative sample of small business conditions in that state.